Managers’ Mistakes – Not understanding people

POSTED BY DR BRIAN JUDE

We can achieve more in our business and in our private lives by working with people and through people to achieve win-win results. The science of putting people into ‘boxes’ goes back many thousands of years. However, more recently, David Merrill and Roger Reid developed a user-friendly system to allow us to use this as a powerful communication tool. Called the Four Personality Styles or Social Styles, it is an amazing methodology for getting onto the same ‘wavelength’ as another person and then working with that commonality.

The objectives of Personality Styles

One needs to have four primary objectives to be successful with Personality Styles. Having said four, the first three are just a platform for the primary objective (number 4).

• Firstly we need to determine what our own style is. In other words, where are we coming from? What are our strengths and weaknesses? The best road map in the world is useless if you don’t know where you are at the beginning of the journey.

• Next, we need to be able to quickly and accurately determine the style of the person we are communicating with.

• This now leads us to number three, which is being able to more accurately predict likely behaviours. For example, with a pussy cat, you may be happy to put your hand in front of him to lick. With a tiger, that may not be a good idea.

• And the bottom-line objective: to develop flexibility to deal differently with different people.

The rules

Rule 1. Although it would be nice and convenient to be able to firmly place people into boxes, with no grey areas, this is not the case. Everyone has a little bit of all four of the styles. Often, a person will have a small amount of three of the styles, but a lot more of one. In that case we put them into that dominant ‘box’. Others may have two dominant and two less dominant styles. In this case the person will be put into two ‘boxes’.

Rule 2. We change with changing situations. So we have three different styles sometimes changing at rapid speed. a) Our social style ... ourselves with our family and friends. b) Our operating style ... the person we generally bring to work. And c) our backup style ... the style we use in stressful situations.

Rule 3. We may not see ourselves the same way that others see us. This is related to our intentions and our actions. For example, some people may see themselves as being warm, caring, sharing teddy bears because they base this on their intentions. Others, who can see only these people’s actions, may see them as dictatorial tyrants.

We will be describing each style as a separate entity, but please keep in mind what we said about people being combinations.

The Amiable

The Amiable is also known as the Relater or the Hi-E where the E stands for Empathy. These people are very relationship-orientated and love working with and being around people. They are people pleasers, dislike conflict and want to be liked. They have a slow and carefree pace, with a tendency to leave things for tomorrow. One of the major problems that they have is an inability to set and then stick to goals. They lose focus quickly and tend to be distracted by whatever is happening around them right now. They have good skills when it comes to getting along with others because they don’t rock the boat. They don’t want to be the leader, so they just fit in and follow.

The Expressive

The Expressive is also known as the Socialiser or the Hi-P where the P stands for persuasion. This is your classical sales personality. Whether selling a product, an idea or themselves, they are good at motivating and persuading others to go along with them. They are also people-orientated, but more interested in the fun aspect than the relationship side. They are fast moving, but often in such a rush that they spin their wheels and create dust and smoke rather than being truly productive. They tend to be poor detail people, not stopping to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. They often dress in a ‘notice me’ fashion, like to be on centre stage and have been described as loud and pushy.

The Analytical

The Analytical is also known as the Thinker or the Hi-A where the A stands for Analysis. These people are far more job-orientated than the previous two. They are highly analytical, investigative and are ‘data collectors’. People who fit into this category are very good at detailed, precise types of work and enjoy challenging themselves against the job or machine. They are not good people-people because they tend to appear a bit impersonal. They are sometimes accused of having ice water in their veins. Although they are slower moving, they tend to get a lot done because of their determination and ability to stick with something.

The Driver

The Driver is also known as the Director or the Hi-D where the D stands for Drive. These people tend to be very focused and work well under pressure. They are challenging, fast moving and have the ability to ‘drive’ or manage their staff well. They are difficult to get to know as they tend to hide their personal side and concentrate only on the job. They are unique in that they are able to see both the big picture (the whole project in conceptual terms) as well as the small picture (the details making up the project). They push their people hard, but push themselves even harder.

The solution

It’s all about flexibility. Being able to be like an Amiable when working with an Amiable. Being like an Analytical, a Driver or an Expressive when the situation demands it. Now, this does not mean that we have to become schizophrenic and change personality a hundred times a day. Rather, we need to change our behaviours as we move from one style to the next.

With an Amiable

Slow down, take your time and speak more about personal things: ‘How’s your wife doing?’ ‘How are the kids?’ Don’t call a spade a spade. Rather call it an implement for moving a piece of the earth’s surface from one place to another. Be less direct, less challenging, less threatening and more comforting. Let the other party feel that you have broad shoulders and they can cry on your shoulder anytime they need to. However, help them to set goals and to gain direction. With Amiables we may have to put them on track first thing in the morning and then repeat this process four or five times during the day. Let them know that they are important to you as a PERSON.

With an Expressive

Speed up. Don’t bore them with the little details. Paint your pictures using great, big, broad brush strokes. Keep your interaction with them lively, interesting and fun. Here we can call a spade a spade. Be direct and get to the point quickly before they lose interest. Let them feel appreciated. They need to be told constantly how great they are doing. Although they are good motivators, they need motivating themselves. Insist that they keep good notes and, wherever possible, get them to write things down. With Expressives you need to be a cheerleader and an appreciative audience of one – all wrapped together.

With an Analytical

Again slow down. Crunch the numbers and go through each point in detail. Explain and re-explain. Make sure that you have given them all the facts that they need and allow plenty of time for them to ask questions. Don’t become involved with personal matters with them. If you ask ‘How is your mother?’ they will probably wonder what on earth that has got to do with what the two of you need to discuss! Don’t surprise them. Give them all the information they will need so that they don’t get thrown off balance later when other data comes to light. With an Analytical keep it impersonal, job-orientated, and grounded in fact.

With a Driver

We now need to speed up. Keep up a fast pace based on job-related, factual matters that pertain to the job. Again, avoid personal issues and focus on what has to be done. These people work best when they are given as much freedom and latitude as possible. Don’t tell them HOW to do something. Just tell them WHAT needs to be achieved and then leave it to them to choose the best methods. Remember that Drivers tend to be control freaks, so don’t get into pointless fights with them just to prove who’s boss. They may expend large amounts of energy in proving who is ‘driving the bus’. Leave them to get on with it.

Flexibility allows us to get so much more out of other people by getting onto their wavelength and communicating with them in a manner that works best for them.

Action point

Attend a training course on this powerful communication tool sooner rather than later. Develop the flexibility to reach win-win solutions with all people easily and quickly.

Image Credit:  www.wallpaperfo.com

When It’s Time to Let an Employee Go

by Michael Essany

Firing someone is, without a doubt, one of the most unpleasant experiences imaginable for a small-business owner. But sometimes letting an employee go is essential for the well-being — perhaps even the survival — of the company.

Jonathan Pyle, a vice president for ThinkHR and a 25-year human-resources veteran, recently shared his expert insights into how to determine when to terminate a worker and what steps should be followed in the process.

Speaking at the recent Hire Smart Small Business Event hosted by Intuit and LinkedIn, Pyle acknowledged that the top 10 priorities of small-business owners rarely include learning to manage employees out of the workplace.

“Business owners know when someone is not doing their job, especially when you’re small,” he observes. “So, how do we know when it’s time to terminate an employee? What we would [ask] is, When is it the right time to talk with candor and explain to someone what the expectations are?”

Candor is the biggest “dirty little secret” in employee management today, Pyle asserts. Frequent communication and fluid feedback not only reinforce employee expectations, but also make termination easier should the need arise. In many cases, these discussions serve as an effective push in the right direction for poor performers. At the very least, this process serves as a clear warning to the employee that change is both desired and expected.

Complicating matters for employers, however, is the increasingly common concern an improperly handled termination could result in litigation.

“What we know from years and years of experience is that a lot of business owners worry about being sued,” Pyle says. “But if you’re candid, honest, and issue-specific, you’re not going to get in trouble.”

The HR expert believes that the gravest offense to an employee’s pride and emotional health is being let go unexpectedly. “We want to avoid surprises,” he says. “The worst thing that you can do is sit them down and terminate them without warning. That’s when they feel humiliated. That’s when they don’t feel they’ve been respected.”

When the notion of termination arises, Pyle says, that’s the time to begin a frank but non-confrontational discussion with the employee. When verbal warnings don’t result in improved performance, the next step is to provide a written warning specifying that additional corrective action, up to and including termination, will take place if the undesired behavior continues.

“When someone reads and signs a document with that language,” he explains, “we’re going to reach them with the gravity of the situation. We’re not going to surprise them at the end of the day.”

These are just a few of the tips shared by experts at the Hire Smart event. Want more? Login here to get free access to all of the resources from the conference, including exclusive video of all the seminars at the event.

About Michael EssanyMichael Essany is a former E! Entertainment Television host and nationally published author who was recognized by A&E Biography in 2005 as "One of America's Most Remarkable People." Michael currently serves as Vice President of Indiana Grain Company, LLC.

Should Your Business Try a Pay-for-Performance Model?

by Kathryn Hawkins

Many jobs incentivize employees by making a certain percentage of salary commission-based. But what happens when you do away with base pay altogether, and pay for positive results only?

For most employers, the strategy may sound tempting. Implementing a performance-based pay structure for contract workers is likely to significantly lower your payroll, and will motivate your workers to be as productive as humanly possible — after all, if they don’t do what you’ve hired them for, they won’t bring home the bacon.

But is it really a good business strategy? Two business owners who’ve tried the pay-for-performance model share their thoughts on the pros and cons.

First, the pros:

It’s cost-effective. “There is no cash outflow unless you are receiving value that drives key metrics,” says Mike Markarian, CEO of Iamhungry, a restaurant-focused daily deals site that has employed sales staff on a pay-for-performance model.

It’s an easy way to run a virtual business, says Linda Pophal, owner of the PR firm Strategic Communications. She has hired remote contractors on a model in which they receive compensation when they get a media placement for a client. Under the pay-for-performance model, she doesn’t need to worry that she’s paying her contractors for hours that they aren’t actually working. “It frees up my time from needing to supervise and manage a full-time staff,” she says.

But on the downside…

It can be tough on the workers. “When people hit a cold streak, and it happens, it can be 
demoralizing to work a full week without pay,” says Markarian. “Part of me says that’s the nature of the compensation structure. The other part is compassionate to putting a hard day’s work in and things simply not coming together.”

You have minimal opportunities to train or educate workers. “Because the people I’m currently working with are new to the PR world, they could probably benefit from more instruction,” Pophal says. “But I’m very aware of not crossing the line into treating them like employees vs. contractors.”

Your needs may not be their top priority. If contractors are juggling multiple projects, they’re likely to prioritize the ones with a guaranteed income. “I’m not convinced that they’re able or willing to devote as much time to my projects as to other activities they’re engaged in that pay on an hourly basis or that require them to be someplace ‘working’ at a certain time,” says Pophal.

Have you hired any employees on a pay-for-performance model? If so, what’s your experience been like? Share your thoughts on why you would or wouldn’t use this model in the comments.

About Kathryn HawkinsKathryn Hawkins is a principal at the content marketing agency Eucalypt Media. She's written about business, marketing, and entrepreneurship for publications including BNET, TheAtlantic.com, Inc.com, and owns and operates the positive news site Gimundo. Follow her on Twitter at @kathrynhawkins.

Is Your Performance Review Doing Harm or Good?

by Stephanie Taylor Christensen

As intended, performance reviews are a good thing. Employees are given feedback about their performance and what their professional future might hold. (The fact that the announcement of raises often accompanies these reviews doesn’t hurt, either).

While entrepreneurs often conduct performance reviews at least annually, most actually miss the point of the process: to identify, retain, and reward top talent. Here are four common performance review mistakes that might actually be doing your small business more harm than good.

You measure simple activity. Your company is judged by your clients based on the results it delivers, not how much energy was invested in them. Hold employees to the same standards in their performance reviews. If you evaluate vague and broad categories of tasks without identifying those that had genuine impact, your review misses the mark. Ultimately, getting results is what separates a good employee from a subpar one, and keeps your business flourishing.

It ends with “so what?” While the dialogue a review generates can give valuable insight to both supervisors and employees, many sessions conclude without an action plan. In a study conducted among HR professionals and psychologists by Impact Achievement Group, more than 50 percent of respondents indicated that most organizations don’t use performance review data to make decisions when it comes to promotions, employee development, and termination. A performance review that lacks actionable takeaways is essentially the professional equivalent of a junior high “slam book,” giving employees a lot of feedback with no useful purpose.

You give merit raises to everyone. One common performance review error is awarding merit raises to all employees. While it’s fine to give the entire team a cost of living increase, a true merit bonus should be reserved for top performers. Further, the amount awarded should reflect the value of the performance. Many corporations stick to hard and fast formulas when determining compensation, relying on standardized percentages and “equity-based” calculations. While such formulas standardize processes, they can be a hindrance in retaining talented employees. The benefit of running a small business is that you aren’t bound by corporate HR policies. Use common sense and award top talent with a monetary figure that you believe is fair and attractive based on market insights. (Remember, if the talent is underpaid to begin with, even a large percentage increase will not amount to much more money). Leave top performers feeling nickel-and-dimed, and they’ll quickly become disgruntled, regardless of how positive review their review was.

You compare employees against one another. A truly effective rating system ranks employees against predefined standards of performance for your company — not against other employees, or even their own past performance. Such a system leads to skewed expectations that will never truly measure performance changes, up or down.

About Stephanie Taylor ChristensenStephanie Taylor Christensen holds a master’s degree in marketing and has 13 years of marketing management experience for Fortune 500 companies and small businesses. She is a regular contributor to sites like ForbesWoman, Real Simple, Mint, Minyanville, and SheKnows, and writes for several private business clients. Her work is frequently syndicated and sourced by Yahoo! Finance, SFGate, TodayShow.com, and The New York Times. She is also a small business owner, having founded WellnessOnLess.com, and Om for Mom Prenatal Yoga in Columbus, Ohio. Connect with her on Twitter @WellnessOnLess.

Rethinking Employee Performance Reviews

by Terri Williams on January 30, 2014

Many employers hate to conduct performance evaluations, and many employees hate to receive them. That’s because performance evaluations are often ineffective and pointless, and the employees end up feeling confused, frustrated, and demotivated, says Samuel A. Culbert. The award-winning author, who is also a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, also advocates doing away with performance appraisals altogether.

Whether or not you subscribe to Culbert’s radical approach, experts seem to agree that the performance evaluation system is definitely in need of a major overhaul. In their book, Management Reset, Edward E. Lawler III and Christopher G. Worley argue that companies must change the performance management system for it to be an effective and valuable tool.

For example, one key mistake that companies make is to grade performance based on such personality traits as being “reliable” or “trustworthy.” Instead, they say, employees should be evaluated and rewarded on how well they do their jobs, as well as their accomplishments.

Lawler and Worley and Business Management Daily offer the following tips for improving the performance evaluation process:

1. Don’t rely on memory to recall an employee’s performance. Using some sort of simple log to document job performance on a regular basis allows managers to present a data-driven snapshot during evaluations.

2. Be methodical and systematic. Consider using the following framework:

• Describe the problem.
• Reinforce performance standards.
• Develop a plan for improvement.
• Offer your help.
• Alternate negative and positive comments.
• Emphasize potential.

3. Avoid making generalizations. “Lately, your work has been sloppy” is too vague, whereas “Your last three reports contained an high number of statistical errors” is specific. “You’re certainly not an English major” focuses on the person vs. his performance, whereas “I know you’re capable of producing higher-quality work” suggests that you have confidence in the employee’s abilities. “Don’t let it happen again” sounds like a threat, whereas “How can we produce error-free reports?” engages the employee by asking for feedback on how to improve performance.

4. Avoid terminology that could get you into trouble. Stick to evaluating performance rather than using subjective words like “attitude” or “demeanor,” which could be viewed as discrimination based on age, gender, race, or disability.

5. Don’t inflate evaluations. If you consistently rate a mediocre employee as “competent” and then have to fire her for poor performance, your appraisals won’t support the dismissal. This could open the door to a legal complaint.

6. Use 360-degree appraisals for development, but not for rewards. Although it can be helpful to have peers, subordinates, and customers provide input, this information usually doesn’t produce valid data for assessing an employee’s performance. For example, if peers are aware that their input will affect pay increases and promotions, they may be subjective (overly positive or negative) and not objective.

7. Send the performance evaluation in advance. According to Lawler and Worley, research shows that people are nervous and apprehensive before and during performance evaluations, and they often don’t actually hear or accurately process what’s being said. However, if you send the appraisal before you meet with the employee, he or she has time to recover from the initial shock of the evaluation, to come up with questions to ask you, and to correct any mistakes in the appraisal.

8. Allow employees to provide self-assessments. Let people have a say in how well they think they’ve performed. This leads to a more well-rounded evaluation and creates a sense of fairness.

About Terri WilliamsTerri Williams writes for Yahoo!, USA Today Special Edition, The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report University Directory, and the Center for Digital Ethics and Policy at Loyola University. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

How to Increase Your Powers of Persuasion

by Lee Polevoi on January 30, 2014

A successful small-business owner must be adept at persuading others. Whether it’s asking employees to do a better job, negotiating a more cost-effective arrangement with vendors, or convincing prospective customers to purchase a product or service, your motivational skills are well worth developing.

Here are some tips for increasing your powers of persuasion.

• Don’t be pushy or heavy-handed. “Successful persuaders get that you don’t win the battle by constantly berating people with an unending verbal barrage,” notes Inc. 500 entrepreneur Kevin Daum. “Wearing people down is not an effective strategy.” Adopting hard-sell techniques to win someone over will likely produce resistance vs. acceptance.
• Make it about them. You’ll never sway someone to your point of view if you don’t factor in that person’s wants, needs, and fears. The argument you present should be about them, not you — how doing what you propose will benefit them in some way, big or small. Persuasion requires empathy and the ability to see things from another person’s perspective.
• Offer examples. A persuasive appeal usually includes an example or analogy that illustrates the value of the argument. Whenever possible, use an example that elicits an emotional response from the other person. Want to motivate your employees to improve their customer-relation skills? Tell them about a satisfied customer who went out of her way to praise a particular staff member.
• Be prepared to compromise. Asking someone to do something for you becomes a lot more palatable to them when you demonstrate a willingness to give a little on your end. Another option is to do something for them in return. “If you are asking a team to work additional hours, lay on free refreshments or offer them additional time in lieu,” writer Philip Lop suggests. “By acknowledging and rewarding the effort that you are requesting, you are much more likely to gain the support of others.”
• Communicate clearly. Attempts to persuade others often falter because the argument is too vague or ambiguous. People are naturally reluctant to agree to a request if they don’t understand what’s being asked of them. The more straightforward your appeal, the more likely it is others will respond favorably.
• Anticipate questions and objections. Like any good salesperson, you should be prepared to handle questions or objections as they arise. Most of the time, you can anticipate the types of questions that people will ask. Be ready with clear answers that help illustrate the value of your proposal, especially in terms of how it benefits the other person (see “Make it about them” above).
• Choose your battles. No one succeeds in getting his or her way all of the time — at least, no one that others respect and follow willingly. You’ll be far more persuasive if you’re selective in what you ask for, when you ask for it, and how often you let others determine a particular course of action. “Want to persuade more?” Daum asks. “Argue and advocate less often.”

About Lee PolevoiLee Polevoi is an award-winning freelance copywriter and editor and a former Senior Writer for Vistage International, a global membership organization of chief executive officers. He writes frequently on issues and challenges faced by U.S. small businesses.

Why You Need an Employee Advocacy Strategy (and How to Implement One)

by Brenda Barron on January 31, 2014

Some business owners scoff at the idea of worrying about whether their employees are content. It sounds callous, but it’s true. Yet happiness shouldn’t be ignored, because it leads to greater productivity, staff retention, and brand advocacy (particularly on social media).

You can foster a happier workplace by setting up an employee advocacy strategy. Here’s how.

Give employees a purpose. Employees generally want to feel valued as an integral part of your team. Therefore, don’t just measure success in numbers and quotas. Share your big-picture vision and your short- and long-term goals for company. Talk about thecrucial role each staff member plays in achieving those goals on a regular basis.

• Don’t stick to rules for rules’ sake. Does everyone really need to wear a suit to work? For big meetings, maybe. But every day? Re-evaluate your company policies, one by one, to make sure they support an employee-friendly organizational culture. Ask yourself: What’s necessary for getting the job done? What’s outdated or just arbitrary?
• Offer incentives. Reward jobs well done. This means actively recognizing outstanding work when it happens, offering praise, and providing benefits beyond the norm when appropriate. Think gift cards, free lunches, office parties, and the like.
• Shift the focus from clock-punching to being productive. This falls in line with tossing out rules (see #2) that don’t encourage employees to be better at their jobs. Perhaps your employees currently show up from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then go home without giving work another thought. But if your staffers like what they do and who they do it for, they’ll be less focused on the clock and more focused on what they can do for you while on the clock.

Employee happiness is essential for companies big and small. If your employees are discontent or disgruntled, you’re missing out in every way in terms of productivity, brand advocacy, and a positive work environment. Now is the time to make your employees a priority.

About Brenda BarronBrenda Barron is a writer from Southern California. She specializes in discussing how technology and social media are used in business practices. Her work has appeared at The Motley Fool, The Content Standard, and Post Joint. You can find out more about her at Digital Inkwell. You can also follow her on Twitter and Google+.